series he was great. this is "world news." tonight, halloween hurricane. the chaotic storm of flooding, wind and snow threatening the east coast. millions of people girding for an unprecedented superstorm. our extreme weather team out in force tonight. >> you can already feel it. and it could become a monster. do or die. what is the must-win state in this presidential campaign? >> here in ohio. >> ohio. >> ohio. >> ohio. >> ohio. >> ohio. >> david muir digs for the secret to an ohio voter's heart. yellow alert. we have the video of school buses tearing down the road at 74 miles per hour. a bus speeding through stoplights. the crackdown tonight. and "real money." the hidden treasure in the drawers at your house. something you're not even using. how to find nearly $800 tonight.

good evening. as we come on the air, a halloween hurricane is on a collision course with the east coast. hurricane sandy, threatening to blast millions of americans with rain, snow and wicked wind. it's an unprecedented superstorm in the offing, and it if happens, it could last for days. tomorrow, sandy is off the coast of florida. sunday, just off north carolina and then head on into new york on tuesday. our extreme weather team tracking it all tonight and abc's meteorologist ginger zee starts us off from miami, where they are already seeing signs of what's to come. ginger? >> reporter: diane, the winds have gusted to 50 plus miles per hour and that beast is still over 300 miles away from south florida. this is just the beginning of our journey with sandy, the hurricane that could become a superstorm.

hurricane sandy, crashing through the caribbean. it exploded in size and strength today as it hit the bahamas, after relentlessly pounding jamaica. the category 2 hurricane blasted out winds of over 110 miles per hour, and unleashed a staggering two feet of rain. here in florida, it won't be a direct hit, but more of a sideswipe. many schools are canceled tomorrow, as sandy approaches. this is ft. lauderdale beach and it is usually packed. but the only thing being packed up and locked down are these chairs. they expect up to ten foot waves and deadly rip currents up and down the florida coast. but the real danger is farther north, when sandy collides with a cold weather system. a merger that could create a superstorm. >> we don't normally see storms move this way. >> reporter: that's why it's been called a billion dollar storm. that's billion, with a "b."

capable of causing more damage than hurricane irene last year. the height of the storm should be tuesday, and it will take its sweet time making an exit. churning in the atmosphere over the same spots for five or even six days. now, depending on where you live, it may bring up to six inches of rain, 80-mile-per-hour wind gusts, 20 to 30-foot high seas and extreme coastal flooding. it's all during a full moon, too, when tides are even higher. it could even bring half a foot of heavy, wet snow as far inland as ohio. >> 60% chance that sandy will hit us. >> reporter: that's why east coast emergency management teams are gearing up and extra help is being brought in from other states. emergency officials up and down the east coast are warning people that you can't wait. you have to get your emergency kits and emergency plans in place now. diane? >> ginger, thank you so much. now abc's weather editor sam champion is here. show us these giant forces of nature about to collide, sam. >> reporter: superstorm, monster storm.

this one has three ingredients, diane, so, let's run through them. first of all, you have sandy, that's number one, the hurricane. normally need warm, tropical waters to thrive. this one is moving fast and it's dragging its tropical moisture with it. second ingredient, look at the northern part of the screen, the upper left hand side, that cold air. this is the clash of arctic air and tropical air, together, it's an intense clash that will deliver a lot of energy, infusion into that storm. it's no longer a tropical system at that point, it's a hybrid storm, but it's a powerful one. and see that line, the jet stream right there? it's a ribbon of air that goes about 30,000 feet, always flowing, more than 100 miles an hour. that, this time, is curved right over this developing storm, so, it actually super-charges, or, it's like giving steroids to this storm. it will behave in a monster fashion with intense wind, intense rain. >> and lasting a long time, it could last for days? >> reporter: and last for days. one thing we have to watch is where it hits. >> right, so, show us the probability as of right now. >> reporter: as of right now,

looking at the spaghettis, very little chance for this to miss everyone completely. the real important part here is, which line this storm will take. if it hits in d.c., very different conditions for that area than if it hits in new york or boston. someone is going to get the worst side of a very bad storm. the thing between now and monday is to watch this very carefully as we are able to pinpoint more closely where this storm lands. >> all the models show it coming in. >> reporter: it looks that way. >> okay, sam, thank you. and i know that you and the entire weather team are going to be tracking this storm every hour of every day, so, stay online with us to watch it. and now, the race to the finish line in the long presidential campaign. president obama cast his vote today. they even double-checked his i.d. and tonight, our brand new abc news/"washington post" poll shows the two candidates close. governor romney with a three-point lead tonight. and 12 days to go before americans get to the polls. your voice, your vote. all roads are leading to one state, ohio. abc's david muir is there to tell us why. david? >> reporter: good evening,

diane. as you know, ohio could be the key to the presidency. the president needs it to hold on, mitt romney needs it to make the map work. which is why both candidates are tailoring their message to ohio voters when they come to the buckeye state. and, of course, there's the ground game. tonight, we take you inside it all. here in ohio tonight, mitt romney spelling out where the stakes are the highest. o-h -- >> i-o! >> reporter: given the math, whoever wins the buckeye battle will almost certainly win the white house. the president mentioning ohio 16 times in one stop to date. >> two weeks, ohio. here in ohio. people of ohio don't forget. >> reporter: and part of the president's playbook here, a tailored message for ohio. >> if mitt romney had been president when the auto industry was on the verge of collapse, we might not have an american auto industry today. the auto industry supports 1 in 8 ohio jobs. >> reporter: since june, the president has made 14 trips to ohio, the state he's visited most as a candidate.

mitt romney, even more since then. 15 times. but more than the message, it's the math here, the ground game. hamilton county, the cincinnati area, for instance, obama won last night. but here at a romney field office, they want it back. just listen. programmed phones automatically dialing voters, some of whom are undecided. this volunteer with three phones ringing at the same time. you have three phones going at once here? >> i do. >> reporter: how do you know which one to pick up? >> well, you just listen. >> reporter: waiting for a voice, she says, waiting to convince an undecided voter. but just miles away, there was this list, too. an obama volunteer, his 14th day in a row knocking on doors. >> daniel from the obama campaign. >> reporter: talking to a voter through their upstairs window. >> i haven't voted yet, but i'm going to vote. >> reporter: even stopping a guy on a bike. >> i haven't voted yet. >> you going to do it? >> i am. because i want you to leave me alone about it. >> reporter: the stakes so high in ohio, the president even offering halloween candy. >> and if anybody comes from ohio to the white house, they will get a hershey bar about this big.

>> wow. >> it will be like -- it will be huge. >> reporter: offering halloween candy to win here in ohio. you know, both campaigns watching the polls here in ohio very closely. the average showing president obama with a slight lead here. but the romney campaign pointing out to us today, they believe mitt romney doing very well among the independents. arguing whoever wins over the independents, diane, the undecideds, will win here in the buckeye state. diane? >> okay, david, thank you. so, ohio could decide who wins the white house, but another race under way in massachusetts could decide which party will control the senate. tonight, two fierce competitors with a lot of money pouring in. abc's jonathan karl has more. >> reporter: it's an epic battle. elizabeth warren, the relentless liberal crusader who took on wall street, against scott brown, the republican with a pickup truck, who won a near miraculous victory two years ago, and he is finding out how hard it is for a republican to win again in massachusetts.

you got a little dent in this thing. what happened? >> being a republican, you get dented around a little bit. >> reporter: brown is a moderate, but warren portrays him as a tool of fat cat republicans. >> the vision of my republican opponent and the republican party can be boiled down to this -- "i got mine. the rest of you are on your own." >> reporter: warren has electrified progressives with her passionate and unapologetic liberalism. >> you hear all this, this is class warfare, this is whatever -- no. there is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. nobody. >> reporter: brown says warren would be just another hyper partisan senator and is an arrogant harvard professor to boot. >> excuse me, i'm not a student in your classroom. please let me respond. >> reporter: brown tries so hard to be independent, he often takes on his own party's leadership, including senate republican leader mitch mcconnell. do you think you'll support mitch mcconnell? >> well, i've already let him know that i'm disgusting by

everything that's going on and he's going to have to earn my vote. >> reporter: disgusted by what? his leadership? >> the gridlock. the gridlock down there. there's plenty of blame to go on both sides. >> reporter: but as warren constantly reminds voters, this race is about more than scott brown. >> people all around the country understand that this race may be for control of the united states senate. >> reporter: in fact, democrats believe if they can defeat scott brown, they are virtually guaranteed to keep control of the senate. and, diane, they're probably right. >> and from capitol hill tonight, jonathan karl. thank you, jon. and, there was news today about something american families trust to keep their children safe. school buses. a new investigation by our affiliate, wmar in baltimore. it shows school buses caught on tape, gunning it through red lights. abc's senior national correspondent jim avila has more. >> hug and kiss. >> reporter: parents trust them with precious lives. >> our bus driver is really good. so, i never seen speed. >> reporter: so, when moms and dads see pictures like this, school buses barrelling through red lights and caught hitting

speeds 20 miles or more over the speed limit, it's shocking. >> potentially on our bus, 50 lives that you've just put in danger. >> reporter: this is baltimore, where our affiliate wmar-abc 2 investigated hundreds of speeding and red light camera violations, caught on tape. some of them had kids in the bus as it zoomed by the cameras. >> we were absolutely stunned by the number of tickets that we found. >> reporter: it's not just baltimore. our cincinnati affiliate bought a radar gun. >> no way. >> reporter: they, too, were surprised at the number of speeding bus drivers all over town. >> scares me for the sake of our children. >> reporter: no wonder it's scary. kids aren't required to wear seat belts in most school buses. this ohio bus with an interior camera captured what can happen in an accident. but the pictures may hide the facts here. an average of only five students die onboard school buses every year. safer here than in any parents' car. >> the statistics don't lie. the school bus is the safest vehicle.

>> reporter: a safety record all agree in danger, when school bus drivers ignore the law. jim avila, abc news, washington. and coming up next here, we'll show you how we helped a family make nearly $800, turning old gadgets into treasure. how you can do it, too, and it's "real money" tonight. whoa, look at all those toys. insuring that stuff must be a pain. nah, he's probably got... [ dennis' voice ] allstate. they can bundle all your policies together. lot of paperwork. actually... [ dennis' voice ] an allstate agent can help do the switching and paperwork for you. well, it probably costs a lot. [ dennis' voice ] allstate can save you up to 30% more when you bundle. well, his dog's stupid. [ dennis' voice ] poodles are one of the world's smartest breeds. ♪ bundle and save with an allstate agent. are you in good hands?

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and now, our ongoing series "real money." ways to put cash in your pocket today. there are some things in your house you're probably not using. and abc's sharyn alfonsi leads the charge to turn them into "real money." >> where are your feet? where are your feet under there? >> reporter: lily and lexi godwin have a bit of a bedtime problem. >> when you sleep, lil, where do your feet go? they're touching. >> reporter: the girls have outgrown their toddler beds. >> what do you want instead of these beds? >> bunk beds. >> reporter: the family's been saving up to buy bunk beds, but they're still about $700 short. so, we went in to help. hi, i'm sharyn. >> hi, mary. nice to meet you. >> reporter: nice to meet you. and brought tech expert jessica dolcourt with us. she says most families can find hundreds of hidden dollars in the old electronics just sitting in their home, if they follow this three-step treasure map. and we went hunting. >> can i get anything for these? >> absolutely. you'll be able to get money for this. >> reporter: jessica's tip number one? almost everything's worth

something, even if it's broken. >> believe it or not, you can get a little bit for this. hot pink color? big bucks. >> reporter: how? tip number two, sell the big stuff, computers and cameras, online. first up, these 3-year-old laptops. we check out the dozens of websites that will give you an instant offer, like gazelle.com. no auction, no waiting. >> calculating. 300 bucks. >> whoa. >> reporter: next, this 5-year-old digital camera. we get $265 for it. we just made $571. less than $200 to get those bunk beds. so, we get that stuff off in the mail and take the old cell phones and the girls off to the mall. yep, the mall. tip number three, there's money near the food court. this is called an eco atm, a self-serve robotic atm that gives cash on the spot for old mobile devices. >> first, let's do cell phone. >> reporter: mary got to work. this machine identifies what

kind of phone you have and what it's worth. first, this 2-year-old iphone. >> whoa! >> reporter: that's great! even this broken 3-year-old phone is worth something. 37 bucks. what? >> oh yeah! oh yeah! >> reporter: there are currently about 150 eco atms around the country, and that number is expected to double this year. 15 minutes after mary started scanning her old phones, the big payout. >> one, two, three. $193. woo! >> reporter: but we wondered, where did all those old phones go? eco atm's san diego headquarters. so, what happens to all this stuff? >> about 75% of everything that we get finds a life as a cell phone. about 25% is going to get smelted for the gold and platinum and palladium. >> reporter: who is buying this stuff? >> a lot of different refurbishers will fix the phones up and sell them to the sprints, the verizons for their warranty programs. >> reporter: all together, the family made $758, $66 more than their goal. and enough to get these.

>> what is it? >> bunk beds! >> reporter: a good day for the godwins that led to a great night for the girls. >> that's "real money!" >> reporter: and mary tells us the girls were so excited that first night, they both slept in the top bunk. so, clean out your junk drawers. we found even those old chargers are sometimes worth a dollar or two. now, eco atm is working on their next generation of atms that could accept your old tablets, even your gpss. we're going have a complete list of what you can sell, what you probably can't, on abcnews.com. >> even if they're broken, they are worth something. >> reporter: they are worth something. unbelievable. who knew? >> well done, sharyn alfonsi. and coming up next right here, our "instant index." the most famous rendition of "happy birthday," ever, marilyn monroe. new tonight, in color, as you've never seen her before. hear who shot the video and where. [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus presents the cold truth.

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and now, our "instant index." proving tonight that everything old can be new again. starting with our quote of the day. are you ready to listen to the oldest recording of the human voice? 1878. and a warning. don't expect surround sound. >> old mother hubbard. she went to the cupboard to give the poor dog a bone. >> the laughter there. it's a time capsule from one of thomas edison's first phonographs.

and the man you hear is thomas mason, a newspaper writer in st. louis, sending us his laughter from 134 years ago. a picture in the news. an ancient volcanic lake on the big island in hawaii, roaring back to life. tonight, lava rising to a record high, just feet from spilling onto the floor of the halema'uma'u crater. and scientists are watching it carefully. and, a video, back in the news. perhaps the most famous rendition of "happy birthday." ever. madison square garden, 1962, marilyn monroe singing to president john f. kennedy. ♪ happy birthday mr. president >> well, tonight, we have this new image. look at it. faint pink. it's in color. a version seen for the first time offering a new angle from the orchestra pit. it was filmed by a member of ella fitzgerald's band. the film goes up for auction next month. and we really do want to hear

from you, so, tell us which pictures, people and quotes capture your imagination every day. we are reading them online, abcnews.com, or tweet them to us, #instantindex. coming up here, how much does your dog know about you? new science tonight about what your puppy is telling you when he yawns. ♪ [ male announcer ] this is karen and jeremiah. they don't know it yet, but they're gonna fall in love, get married, have a couple of kids, [ children laughing ] move to the country, and live a long, happy life together where they almost never fight about money. [ dog barks ] because right after they get married, they'll find some retirement people who are paid on salary, not commission. they'll get straightforward guidance and be able to focus on other things, like each other, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain.

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and finally tonight, we know how contagious yawns can be among people. but have you ever wondered if your dog is yawning because you did? well, there's new research tonight that not only says yes, but tells us cats don't really bother. abc's nick watt. >> reporter: darcy mcquiggin and little charlie are on their way to the park. she yawns and he yawns because he's feeling what she's feeling. >> he can tell if i'm in a sad mood. i'll get a little lick on the cheek or something like that. >> reporter: when you yawn, your dog yawns. swedish scientists, here they are at work, just proved that dogs actually empathize. and that's why they find human yawns contagious. >> not just yawn, but they also took on the emotion that yawning usually signifies, which is

usually sleepiness and tiredness. >> reporter: and it works, well, 69% of the time. yawning is also contagious between humans and chimpanzees, baboons, and budgerigars, but not between us and tortoises. yep, someone actually looked into that. oh, and cats couldn't care less if you're tired. but will a dog yawn more for its owner? our swedish scientists say no. i say yes, because when i tried -- [ dog barking ] and when melissa, the owner tried -- there you go. nick watt, abc news, los angeles. >> and thank you so much for watching. we're always here at abcnews.com, of course. "nightline" will be here later. and we hope to see you right back here again for friday night tomorrow night. good night.

tonight a big anniversary for occupy oakland. they're ready to march once again. sky 7 is overhead for whatever might happen. >> governor brown sits down to bush a tax increase big money is involved. >> tree trouble on the streets of san francisco. one in front of may not belong

to you but responsibility for it might. >> san francisco beat cop struck a chord at the world series. you'll see what a state job is like. and sky 7 is live over frank o fw. awa plaza. a family setting after a year of demonstrations here. tonight you can see a number of people gathered to mark an anniversary and march in downtown oakland. >> that anniversary is that of the police race that cleared their encampment from nont of -- front of city hall. they say the movement is still alive. abc 7 news is live at 14th and broadway with demonstrators. nick? >> carolyn, dan, good evening. from the view of sky 7 hd, you can seeha